Trikes and scooters are among some of the most popular of today's outdoor toys for young children. Previously, if a child desired both a trike and a scooter, the child's parents or guardian would typically purchase two separate products. However, the purchase of two separate products may be costly. Additionally, two separate products increase the space required for storage, which may be at a premium in a garage, basement or other storage location. Accordingly, manufacturers of these types of child vehicles have made attempts to develop a convertible vehicle that easily transitions between a trike configuration and a scooter configuration. Such attempts, however, have been problematic and therefore have met with limited commercial success in the marketplace.
In this regard, there are a number of design considerations that may not be easily addressed to achieve convertibility between a trike and a scooter. By way of example, conventional trikes have seat assemblies on which to support a rider, while scooters lack such a seat assembly. Indeed, the presence of a seat assembly on a scooter may destroy the intended operation of the scooter, or at a minimum, would most likely diminish the enjoyment experienced by a child using the scooter. Moreover, scooters typically include a deck for supporting one or more feet of the rider thereon. Trikes, on the other hand, typically lack such a deck, as the feet of the rider are intended to be placed on the pedals of the trike. Thus, meshing the design of a trike and a scooter can present design challenges that have not been adequately addressed in the industry.
Additionally, many trikes and scooters are manufactured and shipped to various retail outlets in an unassembled state. Some retail outlets may offer a service of assembling the vehicles for the customer. However, in many instances, such a service may not be offered or the consumer chooses to forego the service and assemble the vehicle at home. In any event, conventional assembly of the vehicle typically requires the retail outlet or the consumer to have various tools for implementing assembly. When assembly is performed at the retail outlet, such tool-based assembly can be costly and time consuming. Moreover, improper assembly by the retail outlet can be a source of consumer frustration and/or product return. When assembly is performed by the consumer in the home setting, for example, tool-based assembly can be the source of consumer frustration, and may likewise result in product return if the assembly process becomes too complex or daunting.
Furthermore, there is a strong desire in children to customize their possessions in an effort to express individuality and personality. Conventional trikes, scooters and other child vehicles do not offer much potential for customization and design beyond those incorporated at the factory level. In this regard, trikes, scooters and other child vehicles are typically offered at retail outlets with predetermined color schemes or decorative features (e.g., decals, etc.), which oftentimes fail to make a personal connection with the child or provide the opportunity to personalize the vehicle. Additionally, many of the products currently on the market lack new and exciting features that allow children to play in different and interesting ways. In this regard, many products offered today provide limited activities for children, often being limited to a single activity (e.g., a tricycle is only used to ride). This may in turn limit the use of or diminish the enjoyment the child may gain from using the product.
Thus, while conventional trikes and scooters are generally successful for their intended purpose, there remains a need for a child vehicle that can convert between multiple configurations in an improved and appealing manner. There also remains a need for a vehicle that may be assembled in a tool-less manner. Additionally, there remains a need for a child vehicle that allows children to assert their individuality by personalizing their vehicles through, for example, artistic expression. There also remains the need to provide additional activities for a child to enjoy using the vehicle.